QRX Balances Sonic Finesse and Value for House of Worship

October 25th, 2007

“We’ve been working on this project for a few years now, in step with the church’s annual budget, and previously put in an in-ear monitoring system, six wireless microphones and three antenna distribution systems to integrate with 19 channels of wireless microphones and their FOH console,“ says Brent Payne of Audio Visual Specialists. “The installation of the EV QRx rig was the finishing touch, the end point at which you can walk in and hear all the difference their total investment made.“

Audio Visual Specialists replaced a left/center/right system from another manufacturer; the left and right mains were ten-year old two-way boxes and the center down-fill was a smaller two-way box from a different series, which caused driver issues. Non-time-aligned delay speakers from another brand had been installed about three quarters of the way to the rear of the room, along with some no-name subs down in front on either side of the stage. Simply put, Audio Visual Specialists’ all-EV spec replaced the kind of mix and match system found in houses of worship around the U.S.

“First we addressed reverb issues in the room by treating the rear wall of the church,“ Payne adds. “The side walls were not addressed due to budget restraints. The gently pitched ceiling is made of wood, so there’s some absorptive coefficient, but not a whole lot. It was clear that we needed speakers with an inherently warm and flat characteristic that would work with the room, with minimal tweaking. We wanted to spec boxes from a single series, and found QRx offered the best performance at their price point.“

Two horizontally flown QRx212H/75 full-range loudspeakers cover the house, throwing 65-feet deep and covering around 450 seats, with low-end support via two QRx218S subs. One pair of QRx122/75 boxes now serve as stage monitors, having been originally installed by Audio Visual Specialists as temporary left and right mains last year. The new mains run around 95-100 dB for services, with plenty of headroom via two CP3000S and one CP4000S compact precision amplifiers-remarkably light and powerful units that are a popular choice in the house of worship market. Three Klark Teknik Square One EQ units and two Square One Dynamic units (16 channels) add sonic finesse and functionality to the FOH rack; an easy-to-operate solution to keep the signal warm and balanced with the room.

“The asymmetrical horn in the 112s and 212s really lends itself to the 35-degree down and 15-degree up we needed,“ Payne continues, “so we don’t light up the ceiling too much, but do throw enough down on the audience area; it’s comfortable from front to back, even at a higher SPL. Plus the sightlines are clean-you really can’t tell the boxes are there. We used the QRx rigging hardware to rig the mains high up by the ceiling behind some lighting truss, moving the lights to the side. This was a little closer than I had modeled in EASE-I thought I’d need to come down four to six inches just to get it to play out-but in my measurements after installing the system I found that there really wasn’t much difference in the performance of the system that way, and it kept the sightlines nice and clear for the full band and large choir onstage. Aside from having the power handling and pattern control to cover the room, these boxes just sound good-it all comes down to the quality of the components inside.“

“The client’s comments have been to the tune of “it’s incredibly clean, we can hear every detail,’“ says Payne. “The quality of the sound is astonishing in comparison to their previous system. They can now run a full concert in the room, which wasn’t possible before. You can hear people breathe while they sing-it really adds depth and character to the performances, again, even at higher SPLs. And, of course, the youth are digging it, as we can deliver their preferred dB level!“

Payne offered some thoughts on why working with EV makes a difference: “I was literally born and raised in this business, and I know that anybody can buy and sell boxes. The support and the relationship are what keep the good guys around. In my experience, EV provides unmatched support from all angles-I’ve known our rep Omar Arnold for years, and I know we can expect hands-on support from him and his associates at Quantum Sales and Technology, along with guys like Chris Aeilts at EV tech support. Both of them really opened up the depth and breadth of what EV can offer in its products. Of course there are always budgets to consider, but we worked together to find a well-rounded solution for our client. I couldn’t be happier, and neither could our customer-we’re really excited about this relationship. It all adds up to make big difference.“